


Memories Get Erased

by Jumabu



Category: Be More Chill
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Childhood Memories, Depression, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Friendship, Heavy Angst, M/M, Memories, Sad Michael, Sappy, Suicidal Thoughts, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-07 01:09:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11612793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jumabu/pseuds/Jumabu
Summary: Jeremy Heere can't remember anything, but this guy, Michael, who says he's his best friend is here to help him.-----------------------------------------Michael is freaking out because of Jeremy's amnesia, but he's being watched over by a very protective and supportive friend group.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Gonna be angstthey at first. Then Jeremy and Michael are gonna have a sickeningly sweet relationship. (Prepare to see a lot of childhood memories, btw)

"You're pacing again, Michael." Rich said, his voice was soft, but covered the sound of the rhythmic heart monitor and tapping of Michael's feet as they walked on the hospital floor. 

"I know." Michael muttered. It'd been almost three days since the play, and Jeremy had yet to wake up. Michael couldn't help but worry, everyone but Jeremy woke up, and he was beginning to freak out.

"Stressing yourself isn't gonna help him." Rich pointed out, wincing softly. "When was the last time you got some sleep?" Michael didn't respond. "You need to relax."

"I-" Michael sighed and froze for a moment before walking to a chair between Jeremy and Rich's beds. The flowers on Rich's bedside table were beginning to wilt, Chloe, Jenna, Brooke, and Jake had all gotten him some typical things that you'd get for someone in the hospital, flowers, a card, a stuffed bear which Rich had become attached to. 

"You haven't left the room in almost twenty four hours." Rich said. "You need to go get some food at least or go home and take a shower."

"I don't want to leave him." Michael said. 

"It'll only be for a little while. If he wakes up I'll tell the nurse to call you." Rich moved a bandaged hand to Michael's shoulder and smiled softly. There were bags under his eyes, he hadn't gotten any sleep either. "Besides, I'll keep him company."

"Thanks Rich." Michael whispered, standing up reluctantly. "I guess I'll go get some food. I'll be back soon." Michael glanced at Jeremy for a few seconds before leaving the room, walking as quickly as he could.  
\-----------------------------------

"Okay, Abby." Jeremy called to his best friend below him as he sat on top of the biggest slide in the whole playground. He was only eight, and had a huge fear heights. Abigail had decided to help him conquer it.

"I believe in you!" Abigail have Jeremy a big thumbs up, smiling widely as Jeremy clutched the sides of the slide. She was standing at the end so she could catch him.

"Okay, here I go." Jeremy sighed, pushing himself forward. He slid down quicker than the two had anticipated, and crashed directly into his friend, knocking her glasses off her face and landing directly on top of her. "I'm so sorry, Abby!" Jeremy stood up quickly, his face red, shaking the wood shavings out of his hair. Abby sat up, her smile hadn't faded.

"You did it, Jeremy!" She clapped her hands excitedly, then hopped to her feet, wrapping Jeremy in a hug.

"I did." Jeremy smiled, too. Abby's smile was contagious. Jeremy bent down and picked up Abby's glasses, then wiped them off. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Abigail put on her glasses, still smiling. The two began walking to a tree, their arms were linked. "Jeremy?"

"Yeah?" Jeremy looked over at his friend.

"Can I ask you something?" 

"Of course you can." Jeremy said, both of them sitting under the tree with their legs crossed. "We're best friends."

"Why are you a boy? What makes you a boy, I mean?" Abby laid down on her stomach, picking at grass beneath her.

"Cause I'm, you know, different down there." Jeremy was a little confused by the question, but answered it as best he could.

"Oh." Abby seemed disappointed by the response. 

"Why?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know... I just feel like I'm a boy. I know I sound stupid..." Abigail sighed.

"I don't think that's stupid." Jeremy said. "If you think you're a boy then you're a boy." Abby smiled again.

"Thanks Jeremy." 

"Of course." Jeremy smiled. "Do you want a different name?"

"Um, I kinda like the name Michael." Jeremy laid down next to his friend.

"Okay, Michael." Jeremy said. Michael giggled.

"I'm gonna tell my moms when I get home." Michael said. "Do you think they'll understand?" 

"I think so, and if they don't, I'll always be here for you." Jeremy put and arms around his best friend.

"Thanks." Michael leaned his head against Jeremy. "Do you wanna try the slide again?"

"Okay, I'll try not to fall on you this time." Jeremy said.

"Okay, race you!" Michael leapt to his feet and started to run towards the slide, Jeremy ran after him. Michael won the race, and came back the next day with a haircut.  
\-----------------------------------

"Mr Mell?" A nurse approached Michael in the cafeteria. He had barely eaten anything, not because he didn't have the time, he just didn't have the stomach. "Your friend sent for you and wants to let you know that Jeremy is awake."

"Thank you so much." Michael had gotten to his feet quicker than he had intended, and grabbed his tray to empty it in the trash can. He had finally reached the room, only to find Jeremy's dad outside. 

"Michael." Jeremy's dad had a concerned look on his face.

"Mr Heere?" Michael felt his stomach drop. "Is Jeremy okay?"

"Jeremy is fine," Mr Heere said. "But he doesn't recognise me or Rich. He can't seem to remember his own name."

"He has amnesia..." Michael said to himself.

"Other than that he's doing fine. They're going to release him tomorrow so that maybe something at home can trigger his memory." Mr Heere said. "Would you like to go see him?"

"Yes, please." Michael whispered.

"Alright, go on ahead." Mr Heere patted Michael gently on the shoulder, and Michael stepped into Jeremy's room. Rich's curtain was drawn shut, and Jeremy looked up at Michael and bit his lip, as if trying to remember.

"Hello." Michael said, a slight pain in his throat.

"Hi." Jeremy responded.

"Do you... Know me?" Michael asked. Jeremy shook his head slowly.

"No..." He sighed. "You look familiar, I mean I know your face, I just don't know you. I'm really sorry." 

"It's okay. I'm Michael. We've been best friends for twelve years. You're seventeen, by the way. In case you don't remember." Michael drummer his fingers on his thigh, sighing silently.

"Oh. What happened to me?" Jeremy asked.

"It's a long story. I doubt you'd even believe me." Michael laughed awkwardly. Jeremy smiled and shrugged. "Do you... Want me to leave?"

"No." Jeremy replied quickly. "I'd really like to hear what happened, if you don't mind?" Michael took a deep breath. Maybe it was better for Jeremy not to remember abandoning his best friend in a bathroom, if he knew Jeremy he probably wouldn't forgive himself. But did he really know Jeremy? Maybe he didn't. 

"Okay," Michael said. "I'll tell you. But you're not gonna like it." Michael sat in the chair next to Jeremy, and started telling him what happened.  
\-----------------------------------

"Alright," Jeremy was grinning as he kept checking to make sure that Michael still had his hands over his eyes. "Ready?"

"Yes, you've only blinded me for the last ten minutes." Michael giggled. 

"I just have to make sure that everything is perfect." Jeremy said. 

"Hurry up, Jeremy, before I fall asleep." Michael said.

"Okay, okay. Gimme one second." Jeremy said. Michael could hear movement in front of him. What seemed to be a few minutes passed. "Jeremy! I'm bored!" 

"Hold on!" Jeremy said. "Okay, done! You can open your eyes now!" Jeremy held a black book up at Michael.

"What is it?" Michael giggled and took his glasses from his pocket and put them on his face, examining the book. 'Michael Mell, 4th Grade.'

"It's a yearbook. I know you didn't get one last year because they wouldn't use your actual name, so this year I made one. It's only us, but I did my best." Jeremy placed the book shyly on Michaels lap, and he began to look through it. There were a bunch of different pictures of the two throughout the school year. "I'm sorry..." Jeremy whispered suddenly.

"Why?" Michael asked.

"I didn't mean to make you start crying." Jeremy said. Michael didn't even notice, but he was crying. Normally if he cried, Jeremy would, too. Michael saw Jeremy's eyes begin to well up.

"No!" Michael got out of the chair he was sitting in and threw his arms around Jeremy. "It's perfect! I love it. I'm not sad, I'm just really happy." Jeremy returned his hug gratefully. 

"Oh, I also fixed mine!" Jeremy took out his yearbook. Michael didn't have a picture in it, but Jeremy had added one, and underneath it was written Michael Mell (Your Best Friend).

"Thanks." Michael smiled. "Now, let's quit it with the sappy stuff and get back to video games." 

"Okay." Jeremy handed Michael a controller and went to turn on the tv, but Michael kept the yearbook in his lap the entire time they played.  
\-----------------------------------

"That was... Wow." Jeremy sighed after Michael had retold the tale of the Squipcident. 

"Unbelievable?" Michael finished.

"Yeah." Jeremy nodded. "That still doesn't explain how I lost my memory, though." Jeremy leaned against his pillow and stared at the ceiling. 

"I'm not sure how that happened exactly." Michael confessed. "I'm sorry. I can go if you want me to."

"Do you want to leave?" Jeremy asked, not looking away from the ceiling.

"I kinda figured you'd want me to." Michael said.

"I don't. You said we were best friends. If anyone can help me get my memory back, it's you, right?" Jeremy pointed out.

"I guess..." Michael sighed.

"What's the matter?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know, I'm just... All over the place." Michael said.

"It's okay." Jeremy said, his voice soft and melodic. "We can fix this. Somethings bound to jog my memory."

"Yeah..." Michael's mouth was dry, reality felt somewhat altered. He stood up. "I'm gonna go home and get some sleep."

"Will I see you tomorrow?" Jeremy asked, he seemed almost child-like.

"Yeah," Michael promised. "For sure."

"Okay, bye." Jeremy gave a small wave, and Michael waved back. The second he shut the door he walked home as fast as his legs could carry him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Anak, what's wrong?" Michael's Ina was in the living room when he got home. Michael was obviously freaking out, he was hot and sweaty, even though he'd driven home.

"I don't want to talk about it Ina." Michael choked out, stumbling to his room. He slammed and locked the door behind him. He collapsed onto his bed, taking deep breaths. Jeremy really didn't know him now. Michael's phone buzzed in his pocket, and as much as he didn't want to, he looked at it. 

1 new message from Unknown Number

Unknown: Hey

Michael: Who is this?

Unknown: Jenna Rolan, don't worry, I'm not some creepy guy out to get you or anything.

Michael: What are you doing then? And how did you get my number?

Jenna: 1. I'm checking on you  
2\. Are you really that surprised?

Michael: Checking on me?

Jenna: Rich told us what happened

Jenna: Oh, and if I were you, I'd be prepared to be bombarded by a bunch of unknown numbers in a group chat.  
\-----------------------------------

Unknown: Michael, are you okay?

Unknown: We're here for you if you've gotta talk

Unknown: How's Jeremy?

Michael: Guys please

Michael: I don't know who's who right now

Unknown: I'm Jake

Unknown: That's not me?

Michael: Guys I'm not in the mood for this, please

Unknown: Everyone fix your names

Unknown has changed their name to Brooke

Unknown has changed their name to Christine

Unknown has changed their name to Jake

Unknown has changed their name to The Real Jake

Unknown has changed their name to Chloe

Jenna: My name was already fixed!

Jake: Rich stop

The Real Jake: You're the real Rich, give me back my name

Jake: Rich seriously stop

The Real Jake: Stop, dude

Chloe: Guys!

Jenna: The Real Jake is using punctuation and the correct version of you're so I think that's Jake

Jake: You suck Jenna 

Jake has changed their name to Rich

The Real Jake has changed their name to Jake

Jake: Thank you

Rich: Okay in all seriousness are you okay Michael?

Michael: No, I'm freaking out

Jake: I know we were kind of jerks in the past and you don't really know us that well, but we're here for you 100%

Michael: Thanks guys, I'm just freaking out right now

Rich: I'm in the hospital so I can't come over

Jake: My legs are broken so I can't drive, I could wheelchair my way to your house, but that's take awhile

Christine: I'll come over if you want?

Michael: I'm good, I just want to be alone right now...

Brooke: If you need anything at all, talk to us, okay?

Rich: I'll bust out of this joint if I have to

Jake: You can't get far on those short legs

Rich: YOU CANT GET ANYWHERE ON YOURS DILLINGER

Chloe: Ouch, get some ice for that burn, Jake

Jake: You got me

Michael: What a warm welcome

Jake: But speaking of breaking out of the hospital, when do you get out

Jenna: SO HE CAN ASK YOU ON A DATE

Rich: Next week maybe?

Michael: I can drive you to your place if you want

Rich: Go home? So I can end up going back to the hospital? No thanks, my dad will genuinely kill me if I show my face at home

Michael: Where are you staying?

Rich: My cousin lives pretty close to our school actually. He said he'd take me in

Michael: Okay

Christine: We all need to go see Jeremy

Rich: The only person he's really talked to so far has been Michael. I don't know if he'd appreciate that

Jake: We'll give him some time

Michael: I'm gonna go to sleep

Rich: Yeah you should you have slept in like three days

Christine: Michael! 

Michael: I'm turning off my phone!

 

Michael shut his phone off to escape a lecture Christine would undoubtedly have given him. Michael was strangely comforted by being part of their group chat, and he had felt calmer than he had earlier. He was exhausted, but knew it'd be a bit before he fell asleep. He laid on his bed in the darkness for what seemed like hours until he finally drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it was so short but I'm kinda freaking out right now??? I'll try to update ASAP


	3. Chapter 3

Michael covered his mouth, giggling at Jeremy's attempt to build a sandcastle out of sand that was gathered around a large tree on their playground. It turned into a small hill. The sand there wasn't any good more making sandcastles, and getting it wet only turned it to mud. 

"Damnit." Jeremy whispered. Even though they were only eight, the two had picked up curse words from their parents. The two used them around each other because they thought they were cool. 

"It's okay." Michael grabbed some grass and tied it together, making it into a wig of some sort. "We can make a person."

"Okay." Jeremy grabbed two sticks, then jammed them into the sand pile. Arms. The two found a few more things and created what looked nothing like a human. They tried to make it as human-like as possible, but their imaginations went wild.

"I think they should have three arms." Michael said. 

"No human has three arms." Jeremy giggled.

"No human has six eyes, either." Michael said. The two of them finally finished their creation, then they looked at it for a moment, semi-proud. "What should we do?"

"Smash it!" Jeremy jumped on the pile, instantly ruining it. Michael joined in, the two of them stomping on it like it was their worst enemy.

"Okay, what do you wanna do now?" Michael asked. Before Jeremy could answer, Michael cried out, falling backwards. Someone had grabbed him by the hair.

"Where's it go?" The attacked asked. 

"What?" Michael managed to ask, trying to thrash free.

"Your hair. Girls shouldn't get their hair cut so short." It was a boy, maybe a year or so older than them.

"I'm not a girl!" Michael yanked himself free, taking a step away from the person who'd grabbed him.

"What are you talking about? I know who you are, you're in my brother's class. Your name is Abigail. That's a girls name." The guy crossed his arms.

"His name is Michael." Jeremy's voice wavered slightly. He was horrified, this guy was about three times his size, but he wouldn't let some guy call his best friend something he wasn't.

"What are you, her boyfriend?" The asshole snorted. Without thinking, Jeremy punched the guy straight in the face. The guy barely even flinched, and retaliated quickly by punching Jeremy in the eye. Jeremy fell back, and a teacher saw what was going on. 

"Are you okay, Jeremy?" Michael knelt by Jeremy's side. 

"I'm okay." Jeremy's eyes were watering, and Michael wrapped him in a hug.

"Thanks." Michael said.

"No problem." Jeremy smiled a bit. 

"Come on, let's get you some ice." A teacher put her hand on Jeremy's shoulder, and Michael followed close behind.   
\-----------------------------------

"Wake up, Anak." The soothing voice of Michael's mother woke up. He sat up, fully dressed since he hadn't changed the night before. "Mr Heere called, he said he can pick you up when you go get Jeremy from the hospital." It was physically painful for Michael to get out of bed without lying there and procrastinating for a few minutes, but he got up anyways.

"I can drive myself." Michael mumbled, grabbing his phone and glasses. There were a few messages that popped up on his home screen, one said:

Christine: Michael Matthew Me...

Michael knew one thing, and that was the Matthew wasn't his middle name, it was actually Hades because his mom loved Greek mythology so much. 

"Where are you going?" Michael heard his mom call.

"I'm gonna see if Mr Heere will let me take him to a few of our favorite spots around town!" Michael called back, grabbing his yearbook that Jeremy had made.

"Do you need me to pack you a lunch?" His mom asked.

"No thanks, Mom." Michael smiled, shoving the yearbook into his bag and heading for the door. Michael's mom ran up to him to hug him goodbye like she always did.

"Drive safe, sweetie." She also always said that. She smiled. "And say goodbye to your Ina, she's been worried about you."

"Alright." Michael smiled and hugged his mom back, then raced to the backyard where his Ina was working. "Bye Ina, love you!"

"Drive safe, Anak!" His Ina smiled. Michael waved, then headed to his car.   
\-----------------------------------

Neither he or Michael were hurt in the accident, but his car was totaled. Michael had always been a good driver and it wasn't his fault. He was sixteen and he had recently gotten his license. Jeremy was in the passenger's seat at the time, and when they were driving through an intersection someone had blown a red light, slamming into Michael's car on Jeremy's side. The trunk and back seat on Jeremy's side were completely bashed in, but Jeremy was okay, and so was Michael. They weren't hurt at all, other than whiplash. They were both shaken up, and Jeremy had gotten showered with glass from the window that had broken behind him, but Michael freaked. He thought Jeremy was hurt, Jeremy had never seen Michael cry so much before, and even after they were out of the hospital and the police were there, Michael still cried. 

"It's okay, Michael. It's okay." Jeremy repeated, hugging Michael tightly, also crying. But that didn't get him to calm down. He didn't calm down until a few hours later.  
\-----------------------------------

"Hey," Mr Heere was there to greet Michael at the hospital. Michael instantly felt a wave of awkwardness, other than that talk before the play, he and Jeremy's dad hadn't talked much. 

"Good morning." Michael nodded in his direction.

"Did you want to take him home first or around town?" Mr Heere asked. 

"It's up to you, really." Michael shrugged.

"I... Think it's best if you help him out with this. I haven't exactly been there for him, so he'll need someone that's a bigger part of his life." Jeremy's dad sighed.

"Oh..." Michael felt a little guilty, as though he had robbed Me Heere of his son, even though he hadn't. "I guess I could take him to a few spots around town."

"Alright, I'll see you at home then." Mr Heere nodded and left the hospital without going up to Jeremy's room.   
\-----------------------------------

"You still don't remember anything?" Michael and Jeremy were in Michael's car. Jeremy had been kind of quiet, but Michael thought that it might be a good idea to strike up a conversation. 

"No." Jeremy shook his head. "I mean, I remember the smell of it, it's pretty familiar." Michael wanted to laugh, his car smelled like the unmistakable scent of marijuana. He decided not to mention it.

"Yeah, it smells bad, sorry about that." Michael said. 

"It's okay." Jeremy said. Michael felt his spine tingle, and not in a good way. He was experiencing the dreadful silence they he though he'd never experience with Jeremy Heere. Michael began drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and didn't realize until Jeremy have him a look.

"What?" Michael looked at Jeremy for a quick second before focusing back on the road.

"You're nervous." Jeremy had barely whispered the words and Michael had almost swerved off the road.

"How can you tell?" Michael asked. Jeremy knew Michael had a habit of drumming his fingers on things if he had anxiety, 

"It just seems like it." Jeremy said. 

"Um, I feel like I should probably tell you something important." Michael sighed, getting even more nervous. "You actually helped me through this as kids, but I'm trans."

"Okay." That seemed to be Jeremy's only response to anything, but at least he smiled a Michael this time. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're my best friend, of course I'd tell you... Again." Michael cleared his throat.

"Where are going, exactly?" Jeremy asked. If Jeremy had his memories he'd know they were headed up to their elementary school.

"The elementary school. We had a lot of memories there." Michael said.

"Like?" Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you punched a guy in the face for misgendering me, but ended up with a black eye." Michael said. 

"Well, he sounds like he deserved it." Jeremy said. "What else?" 

"I'll tell you when we get there." Michael promised. Jeremy nodded.  
\-----------------------------------

"Hey Jeremy." Michael greeted his friend as he arrived at school. Jeremy smiled, then coughed.

"Hey." Jeremy's voice was scratchy. He coughed again.

"Dude, are you sick?" Michael looked at Jeremy's rosy face, and Jeremy's eyes shifted obviously to the right.

"No." Jeremy lied.

"I don't believe you." Michael said.

"Don't do the mom thing." Jeremy pleaded. Michael responded by pressing his cheek to Jeremy's forehead and feeling his lymph nodes, aka, the mom thing. 

"You're warm." Michael crossed his arms. "Are you sure you aren't sick?"

"I'm fine." Jeremy laughed silently and pushed Michael away.

"I still don't believe you." Michael said. "You're lucky I don't have a light otherwise I'd look at your throat."

"Seriously, I'm okay." Jeremy promised.

"Jeremy, you hate the seventh grade. You'd never pass up an opportunity to skip school." Michael said. 

"Well, I really don't want to miss today." Jeremy said. "We're working on a group project in 3rd."

"Christine's in your group, isn't she?" Michael asked. Jeremy's eyes shifted again. "Okay, I got you." 

"I really can't miss today, Michael." Jeremy said.

"Just hope that you don't get her sick." Michael pointed out. Jeremy's eyes widened.

"Shit." Jeremy whispered, then repeated the word under his breath.

"Calm down, it's not like it's a big deal." Michael placed a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. 

"I'm freaking out now, man. What if I get her sick and she gets pissed at me?" Jeremy looked at Michael, clearly in a panic. 

"There's a lot of sick people. There's no way she'll be able to prove you got her sick." Michael assured him. The bell rang, and students began to drift over to their halls. 

"What if she can, though?" Jeremy asked as the two started to move with the crowd.

"She isn't magic, Jer." Michael giggled, but Jeremy probably would've argued with him had they not reached Michael's classroom. "Good luck, I guess?" 

"Thanks." Jeremy smiled, seeming to be a bit more calm about the whole situation. Jeremy freaked out whenever Christine was involved. Once he nearly had a panic attack because he saw her in Walmart and Jeremy thought he looked like garbage because of his oversized t-shirt and messy hair, even though he looked adorable to Michael.   
\-----------------------------------

"Does anything here look familiar?" Michael asked as the two walked around their elementary school playground.

"No." Jeremy sighed. 

"We can sit on a bench and I can tell you some stories." Michael offered.

"That'd be nice." Jeremy said. The two sat down, a wall of awkwardness parted them so that they sat on the farthest sides of the bench.

"One time you brought an old game boy to school." Michael began. "Even though we weren't allowed to have electronics. We hid it in a hole up in a tree away from the teachers. We would go up there in the fifth grade and try and beat each others scores on Tetris because that was the only game you had for game boy at the time." Jeremy didn't say anything, he just looked at him, almost like he was searching through Michael's memories. "We ended up getting caught by some girl in our grade, she was a huge snitch. I got so scared I fell out of the tree. You tried to grab me but I only pulled you down. We didn't get hurt, it was kinda funny actually." Silence.

"Then what?" Jeremy asked.

"We hid the game boy somewhere else and since the girl had no proof we didn't get it confiscated. We did get yelled at for climbing a tree, though." Michael said. Michael got out his backpack and offered Jeremy some crystal Pepsi. He sipped it and spatted it out.

"That was awful." Jeremy looked at the can in disgust. 

"I thought it might job your memory." Michael sighed. "You always hated it. You thought it tasted nothing like regular Pepsi."

"Thanks for that, jerk." Jeremy smiled a bit as he said it, he didn't seem to mean it as an insult. Michael pulled something else out of his backpack, it was the Yearbook Jeremy had given him.

"Do you remember making this?" Michael asked. Jeremy shook his head.

"Sorry." 

"It's okay." Michael but his lip. "You made it for me because they used Abigail instead of Michael in the real yearbook." Michael looked up at Jeremy, who stared at the book. "You can have it until you get your memories back, but be careful. It's one of my most prized possessions, you know."

"Thanks." Jeremy smiled and gingerly accepted the book, carefully turning each page and attempting to find the locations of where some of the pictures were taken, but he still stayed on the bench. "Michael, you're... Crying." Jeremy pointed out after looking up at him.

"You really don't remember." Michael's words swelled in his throat.

"I'm sorry." Jeremy whispered.

"It's not your fault." Michael wiped his eyes. Jeremy put an arm around Michael.

"Please don't cry." Jeremy was crying now. "I hate seeing you cry." Michael gasped a little.

"You remember that?" Michael asked.

"Yeah..." Jeremy breathed.

"That's good." Michael hugged Jeremy as tight as he could. "That's good that you remember that."

"Yeah." Jeremy said again.  
\-----------------------------------


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is pretty short but I promise shit's gonna get real pretty soon.

"Anything else you want to show me?" Jeremy asked Michael. Michael shook his head.

"Not here." He said. "We had some good memories here, but a lot of them were bad. I dealt with a lot of transphobic classmates, even a teacher, and you got involved and that was more trouble for you."

"Oh." Jeremy nodded. "Who was that guy? The one in the hospital?"

"Oh, that was Rich." Michael said. 

"Was he a friend of ours?" Jeremy asked. All Jeremy really knew about the squipcident was that he took a pill and almost destroyed the school. Michael hadn't really mentioned Rich.

"Not really. I don't know if you became his friend while squipped, but he had a squip, too. He burned down his friends house because of it." Michael said.

"Oh my god..." Jeremy whispered. "Did anyone die?"

"No. Rich got hurt and Jake broke his legs, but that's all." Michael didn't want to keep reminding Jeremy of bad things that happened, especially since Jeremy looked like an eight year old child who found out his mother wasn't coming back. That's exactly how he looked.  
\-----------------------------------

"Mr Heere, can Jeremy come play?" Michael asked after Jeremy's dad opened the door.

"Michael..." Mr Heere's eyes were red and puffy. "Come in, please.."

"Are you okay?" Michael asked.

"I'm fine." Michael knew Mr Heere was lying, his mother often did the same thing when she had been crying. She thought it made him feel better, but it never did. "Jeremy's in his room, he might want to see you." Michael looked at Mr Heere, but walked over to Jeremy's room and knocked. No response. Michael gingerly opened the door, Jeremy was sitting on his bed, staring blankly.

"Jeremy?" Michael whispered. Again, no response. Michael took a few steps forward, then sat next to him. Jeremy's face was expressionless, but Michael could see the brokenness in his eyes. "What happened?" Jeremy burst into tears suddenly.

"My mom is gone." He sobbed. "She's not gonna come back ever." Michael wrapped his arms around Jeremy. What else was an eight year old supposed to do?  
\-----------------------------------

Rich: How'd everything go

Michael: Well I cried and Jeremy said he hated seeing me cry. I don't know if that was him remembering or not

Jake: Let's just hope he's remembering 

Rich: That guy at Payless is gone. I know a guy who sells squips but he's kind of a psychopath 

Michael: How?

Rich: Long story, but I'm gonna try and find him and ask him about this after I get out of the hospital

Michael: Be careful, dude

Rich: I will

Michael: Hopefully after getting some sleep Jer will remember a bit

Rich: I'm gonna try and get out early

Michael: I'm gonna go to sleep 

Jake: Night

Michael: Night

Rich: Night  
\-----------------------------------

JEREMY HEERE.

Everything was black, even though Jeremy's eyes were open. Jeremy tried to move, but he couldn't feel anything, he could only hear.

JEREMY HEERE.

A familiar voice was saying something to him, but he couldn't remember who it was.

YOU CAN'T GET RID OF ME SO EASILY, JEREMY. 

What does he mean? Jeremy thought.

YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER WHO I AM NOW, JEREMY. BUT YOU WILL SOON. MARK MY WORDS, DON'T TRUST ANYBODY. NONE OF THEM CARED ABOUT YOU UNTIL YOU WERE IN THIS STATE, THEY ONLY WANT TO BE CLOSE TO YOU TO GAIN POPULARITY, I OF ALL THINGS SHOULD KNOW.

Jeremy woke up sweating. He didn't know who was speaking to him, or what they were talking about, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was telling the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm going on vacation tomorrow and won't be able to post until Friday (maybe?) I'll try and do one more before I go but no promises. Also I might make the guy Rich talked about JD because I suck at making up characters and I feel like he'd fit in. Anyways thanks for the super nice comments, I'm glad that you guys like this series. It's super fun and I like writing it's. Also angst is gonna intensify soon. The Boyf Riends will not be the only ones impacted by this. (I'm sorry I'm an evil human being)


	5. Chapter 5

Rich: I'M FREE BITCHES

Chloe: Ugh

Rich: Fuck you

Rich: Michael, I'm gonna see this guy at about 2am tonight

Michael: 2 am wtf

Rich: He thinks it's safer

Rich: If you can, you should come with me. I don't trust this guy as far as I could throw him

Jake: You dropped me off a hill once

Michael: What

Rich: That's a story for another time

Rich: Anyways, this guy is super sketchy, and I need you to watch my back

Michael: Ok

Rich: I'll be by at about 1:30

Michael: Okay  
\-----------------------------------

Jeremy jumped at the knock on his door.

"It's me." A voice said. Jeremy didn't recognize it immediately.

"Who?" Jeremy asked.

"Uh, Michael." Jeremy could detect the worry in Michael's voice.

"Oh! Come in." Jeremy had been looking through a yearbook from a few years back to see if he could recognized anybody. He did come across Christine and Rich, who Michael had mentioned. 

"The door's locked, Jer." Michael said after a few failed attempts to open it.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jeremy closed the book and over to open the door. He felt something grow in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't help but remember the dream he had.

"How are you feeling?" Michael asked.

"Fine." Jeremy responded. "I've been looking through some yearbooks. I still can't remember, though." Jeremy laid on the ground, resting his cheek on his hand.

"Rich and I... We're working on it." Michael promised.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked.

"We're gonna talk with someone about it tonight. In the meantime, I brought you something." Michael handed Jeremy a CD. "I made an CD of all your favourites songs. Maybe that will help?"

"Thanks Michael." Jeremy smiled. Michael glared at him for a second.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked.

"Somethings wrong, I can tell. It's like a sixth sense." Michael said. "Somethings bugging you."

"It's nothing." Jeremy lied.

"Jeremy... Just a question. You haven't heard any strange voices have you?" Michael asked. Jeremy bit his lip, feeling torn. Did a dream count as a strange voice? 

"No." Jeremy said. "I'm just feeling a little frustrated is all." 

"Hold on." Michael pulled out a bottle of red liquid. Mountain Dew Red. "Here. If you feel off or hear any weird voices, you need to drink it. Also, just to be on the safe side, don't drink Green Mountain Dew, okay?"

"Okay." Jeremy promised.  
\-----------------------------------

Christine Canigula hadn't gone to Jeremy's elementary school. He would've remembered her. She was different from all the girl he's grown up with, she was sweet, talented, intellectual, and pretty, all in one.

"She's perfect, Michael. Look at her." Jeremy said on the first day of school at lunch.

"I already looked at her, Jeremy." Michael mumbled. 

"She's perfect..." Jeremy repeated, gazing at her from across the cafeteria. 

"Jeremy, you've said that thirty times in the past fifteen minutes." Michael complained.

"Sorry." Jeremy whispered, still staring.

"Jeremy, you look really creepy." Michael shook him. Jeremy didn't answer. Michael could practically see hearts in his eyes. It was then that Michael knew his love for Jeremy was unrequited.   
\-----------------------------------

"Okay, so I'm gonna warn you. This guys kind of a psychopath. You might wanna try and avoid conversation with him." Rich said.

"I wasn't planning on making small talk with him, Rich." Michael said. Rich grabbed something from underneath his seat.

"Here." Rich handed Michael a gun. "You know how to use it?"

"Uh," Michael stared at Rich. "Yeah, m-my mom taught me. Is this necessary?"

"Just in case." Rich got out of the car. "Come one." Michael stepped out of the car, following closely behind, the gun in his hand. He almost fired it when he heard a voice.

"There you are." Someone ahead of them said. "You're late."

"Sorry." Rich shrugged with false bravado. 

"I haven't seen him before." Michael finally caught a glimpse of the guy in the darkness. His face was deformed and scarred. Michael swallowed. "He a friend of yours?"

"Yeah, we have a question." Rich said. 

"Are you in high school, too?" The man ignored Rich. Michael gave a very small nod. "That sucks. High school was on of the worst times of my life. I tried to... Improve it, if you will. I wish they had these when I was a kid." Jason held up a grey pill. A SQUIP. "Interested?"

"Hey, Jason." Rich waved a hand. "We got a problem with one of our buddies who got squipped. He lost all of his memories." 

"And?" Jason cocked an his head.

"How do we fix it?" Rich asked.

"I don't know." Jason crossed his arms, as if thinking. "You'll probably have to ask yours." Rich was silent for a few seconds.

"It's gone." Rich said.

"What a shame." Jason shook his head teasingly. "I can get you a new one, if you're interested." Silence.

"I'll be back next week. Same time." Rich said, pulling Michael towards the car.

"Kid." Jason whispered at Michael. "Guns are dangerous. Better be careful with them."

"Who was that?" Michael asked once they were in the car. 

"Some guy named Jason? I told you, he's weird. At least he wasn't as creepy this time. He kept showing me a picture of some girl and talking about how he got his scars in an explosion." Rich held out his hand for the gun. Michael gave it back. 

"What are we gonna do?" Michael asked.

"All I can think of is that we have to ask a SQUIP." Rich said.

"How?" Michael asked.

"I have some money." Was all Rich said.

"You're not gonna... Take one? Are you?" Michael asked.

"I feel like we don't have a choice." Rich sighed.

"Rich, you can't do that. I'll take it." Michael said.

"No. If you do it'll be in your head forever. It'll be weak, but it'll be there." Rich said. "It's okay. We'll be ready this time."

"How do we know it'll cooperate?" Michael asked.

"We don't." Rich said. "But I'm willing to bargain with it."

"This is dangerous." Michael warned.

"I know, but all of this is my fault anyways." Rich said.

"That's not true." Michael said. Rich didn't respond.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" Rich pleaded. Michael sighed. He knew this was a very bad idea.

"Alright." Michael said. "I promise." Michael lied.  
\-----------------------------------

JEREMY.

You? Again? What do you want from me?

I WANT TO HELP YOU JEREMY.

You're the squip, aren't you? You wiped my memories.

ITS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING JEREMY. BUT I CAN'T HELP YOU IF I CAN ONLY EXIST IN YOUR DREAMS. I NEED TO REACTIVATE.

Michael told me what you did.

WHAT REASON DO YOU HAVE TO TRUST MICHAEL OVER ME? YOU DON'T EVEN REMEMBER HIM.

I trust him.

DO YOU?

If you're trying to help me then tell me why I can't remember. Tell me why everyone says your so bad.

YOU ARE GOING TO WAKE UP SOON, JEREMY. IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DRINK MOUNTAIN DEW.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's bad but eeey here it is


	6. Chapter 6

Michael needed to talk to someone. He didn't know who, but anyone would do. As long as they didn't know anything about the Squipcident. Maybe his cousin would work? They had been pretty close as children. He wasn't exactly sympathetic, but he had no one else.

Michael: Yo, Jared

Jared: What do you want, whore

Michael: Fuck you

Jared: Speak or begone

Michael: I have a problem

Jared: Ugh

Michael: And it'll sound weird and make absolutely no sense

Jared: You weren't high when it happened were you?

Michael: Well...

Jared: I'm not a therapist

Jared: Seriously I'm probably not the best person to talk to about it

Michael: Dude please

Jared: You can text this guy I know named Evan

Jared: He's weird and would probably be way more interested in this than me

Michael: You have a crush on him, don't you?

Jared: sHUT

Michael: Thanks I guess

Jared: His user name is @corn149

Michael: corn?

Jared: IT'S ACORN YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT

Michael: Acorn isn't any less weird

Jared: He fucks trees or something idk

Michael: Bet you wish you were a tree

Jared: sHUT

Michael: Thanks anyways  
\-----------------------------------

Michael: Hello

Evan: Um, hello?

Michael: I know you don't know me but I'm Jared's cousin

Evan: Oh no

Michael: I needed to talk to someone and he recommended you

Evan: Oh, um, okay? I'll do my best to help

Michael: Thanks

Michael: So I won't pester you with the details, but a friend of mine is trying to do something dangerous to help my best friend. He made me promise not to tell anyone what he was doing but things could go really bad. Should I tell someone?

Evan: I don't think you should let him do anything dangerous

Evan: But it depends on what it is? Can you be more specific?

Michael: You wouldn't believe me if I told you

Evan: I don't know. The decision is yours, but maybe you should tell someone about it? Just do he doesn't hurt himself?

Michael: Ok

Michael: Thanks Evan, you're a cool guy

Evan: Thank you  
\-----------------------------------

Michael: I talked to him

Michael: Still don't know what to do

Jared: Rip

Michael: He seems nice though

Michael: I approve

Jared: I didn't ask for your opinion

Michael: You suck  
\-----------------------------------

Michael: JARED WANTS TO FUCK YOU

Evan: What?

Michael took a screenshot!  
\-----------------------------------

Michael: Hehehe

Jared: What

Michael: Bitch

Michael sent a photo

Jared: You son of a bitch

Michael: Ha

Michael has gone offline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to lighten the mood a bit, sorry if the Deh stuff is out of character, I haven't watched it or listened to it (only a few songs) I read the script but I never got into that much. I do kinda ship Evan and Jared, though? I'll try to watch the whole thing eventually


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been kinda dead for the past week sorry this chapter is short I'll try and get more out soon

Jeremy gripped the bottle of green Mountain Dew. He held his breath, tilting the bottle back and forth and watching the small pocket of air travel throughout the bottle. Jeremy wasn't really sure who to trust. The voice in his head, or Michael. Michael seemed nice enough, and Jeremy couldn't come up with any reason that Michael would be lying. He had considered asking his dad to by him some Mountain Dew when he went to the store for awhile, but now that he had considered it, it was probably a bad idea. He went to the bathroom and poured the Mountain Dew down the sink. Not today. He went back in his room and laid on his bed, afraid to go to sleep. He pulled out his phone, only to see he had gotten a text from Michael.

Michael: Hey

Jeremy: Hi

Michael: How are you?

Jeremy: Pretty crappy. Can't sleep

Michael: Oh

Michael: We can talk till you fall asleep

Jeremy: Not tired

Michael: Oh

Michael: Well do you want to talk?

Jeremy: Don't you need to sleep?

Michael: Nah

Jeremy: It's 3:00 am, are you always up this late

Michael: Yep, always

Jeremy: How do you live?

Michael: The power of love

Michael: And energy drinks

Jeremy: Oh

Michael: I can come over

Jeremy: Won't dad be upset?

Michael: What he doesn't know won't hurt him >:)

Jeremy: I'm good

Michael: Don't you want me over? >:)

Jeremy: Please stop with that face it's creepy

Michael: >;)

Jeremy: :(

Jeremy: Are you there still?

Michael: I definitely didn't fall asleep for 2 seconds

Michael: Sleep is for the weak

Jeremy: Lol go to bed

Michael: Will you be ok?

Jeremy: I'll be fine

Michael: Ok

Michael: Night

Jeremy: Night  
\-----------------------------------

"I hate them." Michael sobbed softly just outside the seventh grade hall. He had just gotten braces, and some jerk decided to make fun of them.

"You look fine, Michael. That guy was just an asshole." Jeremy said.

"Everyone's gonna make fun of me, then." Michael pulled his knees to his chest.

"Braces are normal. You'll be okay." Jeremy assured him, but Michael hid his face. Jeremy took a rubber band off his wrist, which he normally fidgeted with in class, and pulled his hair into a fountain. He smiled and tapped Michael on the shoulder. Michael looked up at him.

"What are you doing?" He asked. "You look ridiculous."

"Good!" Jeremy said. "People are more likely to make fun of me now, so I'll just wear my hair like this until you're comfortable with your braces." Michael laughed softly.

"What about Christine?" Michael asked. "Don't you think your hair will be a huge turn off or something?"

"It's fine." Jeremy waved it off. The walked back inside, and people instantly started giggling at Jeremy's hair. Jeremy kept his hair up like that until a week later, when Michael was no longer worried about his braces.   
\-----------------------------------

Michael didn't normally call people, unless it was Jeremy or he had important news. But Michael felt like he need to call Jake to talk about what happened with Rich. He didn't expect and answer, since it was after three in the morning, but after his phone rang a few times, someone picked up.

"Hello?" Michael could tell by Jake's voice that he woke him up. 

"Hey, Jake." Michael was chewing on his fingernails.

"Michael? It's late, what's wrong?" Jake asked.

"Actually, it's early. This is also important. It's about Rich." Michael said.

"What happened? Is he okay?" Jake was awake now, by the sound of his voice. 

"He's okay." Michael said. "I just need your help."

"With what?" Michael heard unsteadiness in Jakes voice.

"He... Wants to reactivate his squip so he can help Jeremy." Michael said. "He told me not to tell you, but-"

"He can't do that!" Jake said suddenly.

"Look. We have to find a way to fix this. Rich blames himself for what happened." Michael explained.

"It's not his fault!" Jake was so loud Michael had to hold the phone away from his ear.

"I know." Michael said. "But I felt like you needed to know so we could come up with something."

"I'm coming over." Jake said.

"Now?" Michael asked.

"Yes, now! Where did you meet that guy, he might still be there!" Jake said. "We can get a squip and do tests on it."

"He was behind a seven eleven." Michael regretted telling Jake that, because Jake said 'okay,' and hung up immediately. Michael sat on his bed for a moment, unsure what he should do now.


	8. New Chapter Soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not a new chapter.

Hey, guys. I'm in the process of writing a new chapter, but things have been a bit hectic for me lately. Also that hurricane (Irma) is headed for where I live, but I'll try and update soon. Thanks for reading, guys!

**Author's Note:**

> Come follow me on tumblr if you want:  
> calyp-s0


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